Jan. 4—Significant air travel disruptions have hit the Bay Area for the second week in a row, with San Francisco International Airport bearing the brunt this time around.
More than 70 flights were canceled as of noon Wednesday at the Bay Area's largest airport as the region braces for a punishing storm that will pummel the region with strong winds and heavy rainfall. Though its disruption is smaller in scale, Wednesday's storm-related cancellations follow last week's Southwest Airlines meltdown that caused hundreds of canceled flights mostly in Oakland and San Jose.
Skywest Airlines, a regional airline that operates a hub in San Francisco, accounted for 49 of the 74 canceled flights at SFO, where 7% of arrivals and departures were canceled Wednesday.
SFO accounted for about 1 in 10 flights canceled across the country Wednesday. Travelers flying out of SFO should sign up for their airline's flight alerts before arriving at the airport, spokesperson Doug Yakel said.
Airports in San Jose and Oakland, especially hit hard by Southwest's implosion last week, were mostly free of disruption. Only six flights at Oakland International Airport had been canceled, while Mineta San Jose International Airport experienced 14 cancellations.
The San Francisco Peninsula is expected to see up to 4 inches of rainfall Wednesday, and several businesses and school districts in the area have closed.
"Our crews are working hard to ensure water can drain to prevent flooding" at the airport, Yakel said.
Ricardo Cano is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @ByRicardoCano
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